Today, Wednesday 15 March, Jeremy Hunt unveiled his plan for growth with new measures on childcare, energy bills and pensions in his Spring Budget.
And of course, our money saving saviour Martin Lewis has weighed in on the announcements – but he has issued a specific warning surrounding universal credit.
As part of today’s budget announcement, Hunt told the House of Commons that ‘rigorous’ sanctions will be applied to those claiming universal credit benefits in a bid to encourage them into work.
The chancellor said: “There are more than two million jobseekers in this group, more than enough to fill every single vacancy in the economy.
“Sanctions will be applied more rigorously to those who fail to meet strict work-search requirements or choose not to take up a reasonable job offer.
“For those working low hours, we will increase the Administrative Earnings Threshold from the equivalent of 15 hours to 18 hours at National Living Wage for an individual claimant, meaning that anyone working below this level will receive more work coach support alongside a more intensive conditionality regime.”
Taking to Twitter, money saving guru Martin Lewis warned job seekers that as a result of today’s budget, it will now become more difficult for them to claim benefits should they not accept ‘appropriate’ work.
He tweeted:
The Money Saving Expert founder’s tweet soon saw reply after reply from those affected by the announcement – and it’s safe to say, they weren’t happy.